Naoya Inoue will not be able to create as much history in 2024 as has been the case in his past few years.
The big event plans in store for the year ahead, however, could make him a lot richer.
Hideyuki Ohashi, Inoue’s career-long promoter and head of Ohashi Promotions, revealed plans to bring the four-division champion to the famed Tokyo Dome for at least his next fight in Japan. A trip to the Middle East could also be in the cards for Inoue’s forthcoming campaign.
“For [Inoue’s] next fight, I’m thinking about bigger venues, and I’m also thinking about Saudi Arabia,” noted Mr. Ohashi to media members Wednesday. “The Tokyo Dome is an option.”
The concern over fighting in front of a limited audience was raised after Inoue’s tenth-round knockout of Marlon Tapales on Tuesday to fully unify the junior featherweight division. The historic event took place in front of a jam-packed crowd of 15,000 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. The same venue has hosted each of Inoue’s past three fights, each time left with more fans on the waiting list than they were able to grant entrance.
Tokyo Dome boasts a 55,000-seat capacity. The venue has only hosted two major boxing events, both headlined by then unbeaten, undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson—including his monstrous February 1990 knockout defeat to Buster Douglas in what remains the benchmark for historic boxing upsets.
As previously reported by BoxingScene.com, Inoue and his team are currently in talks for a fight versus WBC mandatory challenger and former two-division titlist Luis Nery. The bout is targeted for next May.
With a win, Mr. Ohashi noted the possibility of a title defense versus WBA number-one contender Murodjon Akhmadaliev—whom Tapales dethroned to win the WBA and IBF titles in April—for Inoue’s Middle East debut. Such a bout would take place in September.
Inoue himself floated the idea of a voluntary title defense versus former three-division titlist John Riel Casimero as a third fight for 2024. Mr. Ohashi was not quite as giddy over the matchup, though Inoue views the matchup as unfinished business; they were due to meet in an April 2020 bantamweight unification clash in Las Vegas which was canceled due to the initial wave of the global pandemic.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox